E-Mobility 2.0 – The Energy Turnaround for Mobility

11/21/2012Vienna

Infrastructure for electric mobility – EMPORA, Austria’s largest research and development project for electric mobility, shows how the energy turnaround can succeed in practice: intelligent solutions for charging infrastructure using renewable energy.

In Siemens City’s latest results, Siemens Austria and VERBUND demonstrate how electric mobility can in future work on a nationwide level. At the centre of the live presentation were solutions for intelligent charging infrastructure and energy from renewable sources. Minister of Technology Doris Bures and the CEOs Wolfgang Anzengruber, VERBUND AG, and Wolfgang Hesoun, Siemens AG Austria, discussed the basic conditions under which electric mobility can find widespread distribution among the general public as an important part of the energy turnaround. Following on from this, there was a live demonstration of the substructures developed within the EMPORA project, which together result in a sustainable charging infrastructure system – from charging management through to data management and the making available of renewable energy right through to billing and customer management.

Within the EMPORA project, innovative systems for data management systems, billing and customer care are being integrated anew and specially adapted for the application area of electric mobility. The goal is to design the offer in a way that is as user-friendly, secure and comfortable for the customers as possible. In addition, it is essential that intelligent charging infrastructure and guidance systems for supplying electric vehicles with electricity from renewable energies operate smoothly with new solutions for data management and roaming.

"Austria is among the frontrunners in the electric mobility sector – our country is today producing cutting-edge technologies that are in demand throughout the world. This is not least of all the result of targeted investments in R&D, which have been made in recent years with support of my department. Through EMPORA, the largest research and development project, we cover the issue in all relevant areas: From the holistic level of the users and the vehicle, but also the infrastructure. This is decisive because electric mobility isn’t a matter of replacing a conventional petrol or diesel engine with an electric engine. The gradual implementation on a large scale calls for solutions that take all areas into account. And we support companies in bringing about co-operations in which the individual approaches are brought together to create a whole. From electrically driven vehicles, intelligent charging stations that communicate with the car, smart power grids that supply the vehicle with green energy, right through to integration in the entire transport system - EMPORA unites the individual approaches under one roof for the first time," says Minister of Technology Doris Bures.

"In our capacity as Austria’s leading electricity company we have thus been promoting electric mobility for years. We are convinced that the energy turnaround will succeed in creating a renewable, secure and affordable electricity system. Electric mobility is part of the solution. At the same time we are therewith also capable of fulfilling the climate goals. The fossil resources can be pushed back in the energy sector and dependence thus reduced, which means a growth impulse for all market participants," says Wolfgang Anzengruber, VERBUND CEO.

"From the very outset, Siemens has made a decisive impact on the world of electric mobility and, to this day, has retained its leading role in electric mobility as an important technology partner – from the supply and development of innovative mainline and commuter rail systems, the development of engines and vehicle components, right through to the manufacture of reliable, robust components for the infrastructure. In the matter of electric mobility, Siemens Austria combines its R&D competence in the area of intelligent power grids with its special IT expertise in the area of data and energy management. It is particularly in this segment – in association with other companies – that a research-friendly climate in Austria is of particular importance. The EMPORA example is a very good illustration of how quickly and effectively research results can reach market implementation. The goal must be to not just promote electric mobility in Austria, but – in particular – cutting-edge technologies and production for electric mobility from Austria. Only in this way will we succeed in contributing to greater energy efficiency, innovation capacity, but also to value creation in our country," says Siemens Austria CEO Wolfgang Hesoun.

All discussion participants were of the opinion that, through the introduction of electric mobility, important reductions in emissions in the transport sector will be achieved. A sustainable mobility solution for the future must be created, not least on account of Austria’s obligation within the scope of the Kyoto Protocol for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The research project EMPORA (E-Mobile Power Austria) comprises two project parts with a total project volume of 26 million euro and is the largest cooperative R&D project in Austria. A total of 22 partners are working on development solutions in the area of vehicle technology, infrastructure, as well as applications and users. The entire value-added chain will therewith be covered. In the area of vehicle technology, products and solutions are being developed for the electrified drive chain and charging and storage technologies. Intelligent charging infrastructure and guidance systems for supplying electric vehicles with electricity from renewable energy sources, as well as roaming solutions, are being developed in the infrastructure area. In the application and user area, service concepts for users of electric vehicles are being developed with the aim of overcoming entry barriers. The services for customers are rounded off by solutions for the integration of electric mobility in the transport system as a whole.